


It's the Simple Things in Life

by JillHayes



Category: Aaron Tveit - Fandom
Genre: Aaron Tveit as a Dad, F/M, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-02-24 06:23:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13207848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JillHayes/pseuds/JillHayes





	1. Overview of this Story

This is basically going to be a bunch, and I mean, a bunch of little stories about Aaron Tveit and Jill Samuels, how their love began and all the way through their lives together, so I really hope you enjoy and if you have a fic idea you want me to write, don't hesitate to message me or leave a comment and I'll get to it!


	2. The Day We Met

“Welcome to History of Theatre I, I am Professor Lefko,” Aaron gets settled into his seat, pulling out his notebook and a pen, “Excuse me, could I borrow a pen? I have no idea where mine went,” he looks up to see a beautiful girl staring right back at him, “Umm, yeah, no problem.”  He goes back into his bag and grabs another pen for her, “Here you go, but you know, I’m gonna need something in return for that.”  

She smiles at him then looks down at the pen, “I don’t know if this pen is worth much, what did you have in mind?”  

He leans in closer, whispering, since the professor has started talking again, “How about your name?”  She smirks and he gives her the most innocent smile she had ever seen, “I’m Jill, Jill Samuels,” she holds her hand out to shake his, and he returns the gesture, “Aaron, Aaron Tveit, it’s nice to meet you.”  

 

“Dude, this chick is just in one of your classes, it’s not fate or anything, chill out,” one of Aaron’s friends, Jason, says as they down another shot, “I’m not saying it’s fate, but you should’ve seen her, she was like an angel, sent from the heavens.”  Jason rolls his eyes, working his gaze around the party, until it settles on a group of girls who just walked in.  

Aaron follows his gaze and sees her, Jill, standing sheepishly in the corner with her friends, holding her drink but never actually taking a drink of it, he smiles to himself just at the thought of her.  “Hey, I’m gonna go over there, you good?” he asks Jason, who just responds by walking to the other side of the room.  

Aaron walks over to Jill and leans up against the wall, “Hey, Jill,” he says, barely loud enough for her to hear over the music, “Hey, Aaron, right?”  He nods his head, taking a sip of the beer in his hand, “Why have I never seen you at these parties before?”  

“This is kinda my first one, I’m not a very big fan of parties,” she yells to his ear, “Oh, okay! I’m gonna go get another drink, you want anything?”  She shakes her head and he leaves her with her friends to grab another beer, knowing he’s going to need as much courage as he can muster to talk to her anymore, he’s never felt like this before, but he doesn’t want it to stop.  

 

“So, are you a musical theatre major too?” Aaron asks her, she doesn’t respond, so he assumes she didn’t hear him, “Jill?”  She turns her head to him more, “Sorry, what’d you say?”  

“I asked if you were a theatre major too?”  She shakes her head, “No, I’m communications, I just wanna work in the theatre world, so I’m taking those classes too,” he nods his head and leans back against the wall as some guy makes his way over to them, “Hey, you’re in my math class, right?” he asks Jill, “Yeah, I am, why?”  

“You look incredible tonight,” she rolls her eyes, leaning closer to Aaron, “Come on, you don’t want a compliment like that, from me?”  

“No thank you, I’m not a fan,” Aaron smiles in the other direction, taking a mental note not to piss her off, before he knows it, the guy’s hand is on Jill’s shoulder, tighter than Aaron or Jill are comfortable with, “Get your hand off of me,” she says, calmly, a lot calmer than Aaron was going to.  “You don’t wanna go back to my place?” now he sees she’s frozen up, “Hey, she asked you to remove your hand, so cut it out,” the guy looks at Aaron, clearly angry, “Are you her bodyguard?”  He looks at Jill, who’s just shaking her head, she mouths, ‘Don’t do anything’, Aaron backs up and leaves it alone until the guy tries to kiss her.  

“Get away from her!” he pushes the guy away and Jill runs out of the party, completely embarrassed, Aaron follows her to make sure she’s okay.  

“Hey! Are you alright?” she turns to face him, laughing, “I don’t need you to fight my battles, okay? I’m perfectly capable of fending off unwanted predators.”  

“I’m sorry, okay? I just didn’t like the way he was treating you, I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry,” she walks up to him, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be yelling at you for helping me out, I just didn’t know how else to react.”  

He wraps his arm around her waist, whether it was the liquid courage, the adrenaline, or just his impatience, he’s not sure, “Is this okay?” she nods, leaning in closer to him, “This is perfect,” his other hand finds its way to cup her face, “And this?” she nods, “Yes.”  She crashes her lips into his, smiling in the kiss, when they pull away she keeps her eyes closed, “Walk me to my dorm?” she asks, so sweet and quiet that he almost melts on the spot.  

“Of course, you okay?” she nods, her eyes still closed, “I just need a second, I’m sorry,” he rubs her back, “You’re okay, don’t apologize.”  About a second later, she opens her eyes and it’s like she’s back to her other self, the one with all the confidence in the world, “So, you gonna walk me back to my dorm, or what?”  

“What dorm are you?” he takes her hand and they start walking back toward campus, “Bogart, second floor,” Aaron nods, pulling her hand to his lips, kissing it softly, “What was that for?” she asks, looking at him, “You’re just so soft, I had to.”  

 

“You wanna come in?” Jill asks once they get to her dorm building, “I think you need sleep, it’d be a bad idea if I came in.”  Jill shakes her head and leans in to kiss him, “It’s freezing and I have an electric blanket and hot cocoa, come inside.”  He smiles at her and follows her up to her room.  

When they get up to her door, she unlocks it and sees her roommate getting ready to leave, “Hey, Alex, this is Aaron, he’s a friend of mine, you headed out?”  She nods her head, clearly not caring what Jill is up to, “Alrighty then,” she turns her attention to Aaron, “Hot cocoa?”  He nods, sitting down at her desk, looking around her room.  

“You a big Sondheim fan?” Aaron asks, seeing her musical posters on the wall, “Yeah, Assassins is my favorite musical, are you?”  

“I did West Side Story in high school, so yeah, I consider myself a fan,” Jill hands him a mug with  _ Wicked _ on it, and takes the Disney one for herself.  

“You can sit on my bed, if you want, it’s much more comfortable,” Jill says, climbing onto her bed, “You sure? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” he says as she suddenly remembers she still has on makeup and super uncomfortable clothes, “Yeah, sit up here, but I’m gonna go change and take off my makeup, is that okay?”  

“Yeah, of course, it’s your room,” he smiles at her as she climbs out of her bed and he jumps up onto it, she goes into her bathroom and washes her face before walking back out to her dresser to grab some sweatpants and a t-shirt.  “I hope you don’t mind how I look, is it alright if you are hanging out with a monster?”  

Aaron laughs and takes a sip of his hot chocolate, “Yeah, I’m sure you look terrible,” he says sarcastically.  

 

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” Aaron whispers before he kisses her softly, “You’re full of it, you know that?”  His hand goes from her neck, down her body to rest on her hip as he situates himself so that he’s hovering over her, “You’re literally the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and your lips are so intoxicating,” she smiles as he kisses her again.  

“Stay in here tonight?” she asks as he roams over her body with his eyes, “If you want me to, yeah,” his lips end up on her neck, kissing softly, “Aaron, stop, please,” he pulls away quickly, sitting up, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, you’re fine, I just am kinda tired,” he smiles at her, pulling the blanket over her, “I can sleep on the floor, if you’d like.”  

“No, sleep up here with me, I like being around you,” he lies down, holding her, “Goodnight, Jill,” she smiles as he kisses the back of her head, “Goodnight.”


	3. Dealing with A Bad Day

The second week of classes, Jill wasn’t in her theatre class and Aaron definitely noticed, she would never miss a class, especially at noon on a Tuesday.  He sat through the class, anxiously, barely paying attention to what was going on at all.  

After class, he made his way to Bogart, waiting until someone walked out of the building to get in, he got up to the second floor and knocked on her door.  

“Who is it?” he hears a small voice ask, “It’s Aaron!”  He then hears shuffling and someone opens the door a crack, “Aaron, I really don’t want you to see me right now.”  

“Did I do something wrong? Are you okay?” she opens the door a bit more so he can see her, she doesn’t have on makeup, her glasses are on instead of her usual contacts, her hair is in a sloppy bun, most of her hair had fallen out of it like she had been sleeping on it, she’s in an oversized sweatshirt and leggings.  “Are you sick?” he asks, she shakes her head, “Not technically, no, but you don’t have to be here, I’m fine, really.  It’s nothing I can’t handle on my own.”  He smiles at her, opening the door up more, “Just because you  _ can _ handle it on your own, doesn’t mean you  _ have _ to.”  

 

“Aaron, can you help me? I can’t open this,” he walks over to her, taking the bottle of Sprite out of her shaky hands.  “You okay?” she shakes her head as he hands the bottle back to her, “Here, sit down,” he leads her to her desk chair, kneeling down in front of her.  

“You wanna talk about it?” she shakes her head again, leaning her head down to rest on his shoulder, “It just gets like this sometimes, I’m supposed to take my meds, but they make me feel like shit and I just-” she starts crying and he rubs her back, not saying anything because he can’t relate to what she’s going through.  

“I’m sorry, you probably think I’m insane,” she pulls herself up off of him and he smooths her hair down away from her face, “I don’t think that, you’re just having a hard time right now.”  She smiles at him, “Thank you, can you help me get in my bed? It’s really high up and I have zero energy.”  

 

“Hey, Jill, I went and got you some food,” Aaron says, waking her up, she sits up, leaning back against her pillow, “Thank you,” she says as he smiles at her, putting the Wendy’s bag on her bed.  “Anything you need?” she nods her head patting the bed next to her, “I need you.”  He couldn’t tell whether she was exhausted and needing him, or genuinely wanting him there with her, but either way, he wanted her as well, in whatever capacity she would allow him.  

He climbs into bed with her, letting her cuddle up with him, completely forgetting the food.  “Mmm, thank you, you’re comfy,” he smiles, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “Good, I’m glad.”  

He holds her close as she falls asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.


	4. Is it Good News?

“Jill! Jill! You’re never gonna believe it!” Aaron yells, running up to her, out of breath, “I just got asked to join the cast of Rent on tour as a swing!”  He picks her up, spinning her around.

“Oh my god, I’m so proud of you!” Jill grabs his face, kissing him hard. 

“Wait, how long are you gonna be gone?” Jill asks, changing the mood.

“Oh, babe, I don’t know, I just was asked and said yes so fast, and then I had to run to tell you.”  

“Oh, well I’m sure we’ll be fine, you are getting your career started and I am so proud of you, we should celebrate!” he smiles at her, kissing her again.

“My parents are driving up here to take me out to dinner to celebrate, I want you to come too.”  

“To meet your parents? You really want me to?” 

Aaron nods his head, vigorously, “Of course I do, I love you.”  

Jill smiles, taking a deep breath, “Oh, Aaron, I love you too,” he exhales, smiling bigger than she’d seen in the four months they’d known each other.  

 

“Mom, dad, this is Jill, my girlfriend,” Jill extends her hand to shake his parents’ hands.  

“It’s lovely to meet you, Jill, Aaron has told us so much about you.” Aaron’s mom, Posie says, smiling at her.

Jill looks up at Aaron, “Has he, now?”  

“Hey, nothing bad, I could never say anything bad about you, you know that,” he assures her, hugging her to his side.  

 

“So Jill, what are you studying?” Aaron’s dad, Stanley asks.  

She takes a drink of her water, “Communications, I wanna work in public relations in the theatre world.”  

“That sounds like a good plan, especially with Aaron doing what he does,” Jill smiles and Aaron puts his hand on her thigh.

“I definitely think so,” she agrees, looking up at Aaron.  

“Yeah, I do too, it’s perfect,” he pauses, “you’re perfect.” 

Jill giggles, leaning up to give him a quick kiss, “Cheesy.” 

 

“Do you think your parents liked me?” Jill asks Aaron as they get to his apartment.

“Yeah, I do, I think they’re just worried about what’s gonna happen when I leave for tour.”  Jill smiles sadly, taking off her shoes and crawling into his bed. 

“Aaron, do you think we’ll be okay when you leave?” he smiles at her, crawling into bed next to her.

“Why wouldn’t we be?”  

“I don’t know, you’re gonna be gone for like a while, what if you meet someone better?” he pulls her into his arms, holding her tight.

“Stop that, you’re the only woman who could ever be for me, okay?”  She wraps her arms around him, holding him as tight as she can.

“Promise?” 

“Promise.  Now,” he pulls away from her, moving to hover over her, “I am going to prove to you how much I love you.”  He kisses her passionately, holding her close to him, she sighs into the kiss, not worrying about when he’s gonna have to leave or for how long just yet, just living with him then and there was enough for her at that moment.  He lifts his head up, kissing down her jaw and neck, burying his face in her neck as she reaches up to turn the lamp off. “GodDAMN I love you!” he yells before he goes to suck on his favorite spot on her neck. 

 

The next few days, Aaron did nothing but talk about when rehearsals began for Rent, when he was leaving and how excited he was.  One night, while eating a home cooked meal made by Aaron, Jill just snapped. 

“Shut up! Stop talking about all of this tour shit! For one goddamn second, just stop!” Aaron is taken aback, he sets his fork down, looking at her with a mixture of confusion and hurt all over his face.  “I’m sorry, I’m so-” Jill gets up running to the bathroom, closing and locking to door behind her, Aaron rushes after her, knowing what’s about to happen.

“Jill? Sweetheart, don’t apologize, you have nothing to be sorry for, okay?”  

Jill gags, kneeling in front of the toilet, throwing up everything she had just eaten, she hadn’t felt her anxiety like this in two months, but god, she hated it with every ounce of her being.  “Jill, baby, please let me in, I know you’re throwing up,” she flops down next to the tub, curling her knees to her chest.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry, Aaron, I don’t deserve you.” 

Aaron slides down the door, chuckling, “That’s the most bullshit I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth, and you said that the production of The Three Musketeers I was in, was good.” 

Jill giggles quietly, “Because you were good because I loved watching you in it.”

“Talk to me, baby, why’d you get so upset?” Jill crawls over, unlocking the door, then crawls back to sit in front of the tub.  Aaron carefully opens the door, crawling into the bathroom to sit with her. 

“I love you, I want you to be happy, I’m so proud of you for getting this gig, but it’s just-” her throat won’t let her continue speaking.

“Baby, I’m always gonna come back to you, you’re not gonna just lose me, okay?”  

“How do you know that?!” Jill yells, pulling away from him, “How the fuck can you say that, you don’t know any of that, Aaron!” she leans back over the toilet, throwing up again, Aaron struggles on whether or not he should touch her, or help her out at all.   “Aaron, I don’t know what’s going to happen, neither do you, maybe we should take a break when you leave for tour.” 

T his time he knows exactly what to do, “I’m not doing that, Jill,” he reaches over, pulling her down into his lap.  

“We are not taking a break, okay? We are stronger than this, I know it,” he holds onto her tight.

“I love you, Aaron, I don’t want to take a break.”  

He nestles his head into her neck, “Good, then we won’t, so don’t bring it up again, okay?” 

She nods, turning around in his grip, “I’m sorry, babe, I love you.”  

“You’re forgiven, don’t apologize, anymore, okay?” 

She nods, curling into his lap, “How about we go lay down in my bed and just rest?”  

“Okay, but will you carry me?” Jill asks causing Aaron to laugh. 

“Of course, baby, let’s go lay down.”  

 

“Baby?” Jill turns around in bed, seeing Aaron still awake. 

“What is it?” she asks, resting her head on his chest.  

“I just want you to know that if at any point while I’m gone, you need anything, or need to see me, just call, okay? Or go to my parents, they said they’re happy to take you in if you need someone.”  

S he nods, pressing a kiss to his chest, “What if one night, I just really really wanna have sex?” 

“I am allowing you to have one stand-alone one nightstand while I’m on tour,” Jill laughs at him, kissing his bare chest again.  “You’re the only man I could ever want and you know that,” Jill says wrapping her arm around Aaron.

“I know, I was just kidding, but seriously, I will get you a ticket out to wherever I am whenever you need to see me or I need to see you.”


	5. "I miss you"

Aaron hasn’t stopped holding Jill for about two minutes, they’re standing in the middle of the airport with Aaron’s parents, not caring if anyone is staring at them.  

“I love you, I’m gonna miss you so much,” Jill says, holding onto him even tighter, if that’s at all possible.

“I love you too, I’ll be back sooner than you know it, we’ll be okay, I promise,” Aaron responds, kissing her neck softly.  

They pull away when Posie points out the time.  He leans in for one last, long kiss, then turns to his parents, hugging them goodbye.  He turns back to Jill one last time, blowing her a kiss as he starts to walk toward security.  

Jill runs after him, running into his arms, “Please don’t go, Aaron,” he lifts her up and she wraps her legs around his waist, holding onto him tight.  

“I have to, baby, I’ll call you when I land, and we will talk as much as possible, anytime you need me, call or go to my parents, okay?”  She nods, pulling her head up to kiss him. “I love you so much, beautiful, there’s no way I won’t come back to you, I promise,” he says as she hops down from his arms.  

“I love you too, don’t forget, a Playbill from every show for me,” she says smiling at him.  He smiles back, blowing her another kiss, before walking to security, leaving Jill alone with Aaron’s parents.  She runs over to them, straight to Posie, hugging Posie as Jill cries into her shoulder.

 

_ “I’m gonna miss you, a lot, you know that?” Aaron says, holding Jill close as they watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s one last time together before he leaves for tour.   _

_ “Don’t do that, please, I can’t handle it right now,” Jill says, squeezing him tighter.   _

_ “I’m sorry, baby, you wanna watch West Side Story after this?” he asks, kissing the top of her head.   _

_ “I always want to watch West Side Story, especially with you.”   _

 

That night, when Jill got to Aaron’s apartment, it felt especially cold, she sat her bag down by the door and walked over to the couch, turning on the TV.  An episode of SVU was on, hers and Aaron’s favorite show to watch together. 

She settles in with one of Aaron’s blankets and starts watching the episode, her heart aching for her boyfriend who was probably already in Dallas by now.  

She gets up off the couch to go into the kitchen to look for something to eat, Aaron, knowing she can’t cook for anything had pre-made her about ten meals.  

She giggles, seeing that he had left her food.  She grabs a container of lasagna and turns on the oven to heat it up.  

 

Halfway through her dinner, the phone rings in the living room.  She gets up going over to pick it up, answering it quickly, hoping it’s Aaron.  

“Hello?” 

_ Hi angel, how’s the lasagna? _

“How’d you know I was gonna eat the lasagna first?”

_ Because I know that it’s your favorite meal that we have together and you’d subconsciously pick it to eat first.  And you love my mom’s recipe, which is what I used. _

“You are the devil, I swear!” Jill laughs.  

_ Maybe so, but you love me.  _

“And miss you like crazy, the apartment feels weird without you, babe.” He can hear her voice wavering, his heart aches.  

_ Baby, I’m right here, just on the phone.  I’m always with you, you know that.  _

“It’s not the same.”

_ I know, I wish I could hold you.  _

“My whole heart…” 

_ My whole life… _

“Just make sure you call every night after shows and-”

_ I know, baby, I will.  Finish your lasagna and go lie down, you need to rest.  You barely slept last night.  _

“Okay.  I love you, my sweet.”  

_ I love you more than anything, angel.  _

 

Weeks passed, Jill was slowly getting into a routine with some friends and figuring out how to live without Aaron for the next few months.  Sleeping wasn’t easy, she was used to his arms around her, his warmth surrounding her. 

After Aaron had been gone for about three months, Jill decided to visit his parents in Middletown, she took his car that he had left for her to use and drove the hour and a half down to have to dinner with them.  When she gets in the house, she sets her bag down and calls for Posie. 

“In the kitchen!” she walks in, handing Posie a pie she had made for her earlier in the day after she got out of class.  “Oh, thank you sweetheart. Stan will be in in just a minute, he’s out in the garage fixing something in his car, have a seat at the table.”  

Jill sits down and Stan walks in from the garage, “Oh, hey there, I’m glad you came to have dinner with us tonight.  We haven’t seen you in forever,” he smiles hugging her. 

“I know, I got lonely up at Ithaca, I just needed some family.  Have you guys talked to Aaron today? He hasn’t called and I’m worried.”  Posie shakes her head, along with Stan as they set the food out on the table.  

“We haven’t, no, he usually calls us every other day and he called yesterday so we weren’t expecting anything,” Posie explains.  

“Oh, I’m sure he’s just busy,” Jill sighs.  

They hear the front door open and Jill looks up confused.  

“Is that Jon?” 

Posie shakes her head, “Jon is at a friend’s tonight working on a project for school.”  Jill turns around as the person walks into the doorframe of the kitchen. 

“Hey baby, miss me so much you came to have dinner with my parents?” Aaron smiles and Jill jumps out of her chair running into his arms, wrapping her legs around him.  “Oh man, I’ve missed holding you,” Aaron chuckles as Jill cries into his shoulder, “I’m home now, I’ve got you, baby.” 

She lifts her head up, kissing him hard, “I missed you so much,” she cries, throwing her head down on his shoulder again.  

“I’m home, I’m here,” he whispers, kissing the side of her head.  She lets him set her back down on the floor to go hug his parents.  

“What are you doing home? You weren’t due to come back for another two months,” Posie says, hugging him tight.  

“I’ve got a couple days off, decided to surprise you guys and be with my girl,” he says, walking back over to Jill, he wraps his arms around her, kissing her again.  

“Did you get my playbills?” she asks, pulling out of the kiss.  

“I’m gone for three months and that’s what you’re worried about?” Jill shrugs her shoulders laughing as Aaron walks over to his backpack, pulling out a manilla folder.  “Here you go, one from every show, just like you asked.” 

“Thank you very much, now sit, I wanna hear all about it,” Jill smiles, leading him back to the table to eat with his parents.  

 

“You sure you don’t want me to drive back?” Aaron asks, reaching over to put his hand on Juliet’s leg as she pulls out of his parents’ driveway.  

“I’m sure, I like driving your car and you’ve been travelling all day, you need to rest,” Jill smiles as Aaron turns the radio up, leaning back in the seat, his hand trailing along to Jill’s back, running his knuckles along her spine lightly, yawning as he closes his eyes.  

When he wakes up, Jill is parking the car at his apartment. She leans over kissing his cheek, “Let’s go to bed, I missed sleeping in the same bed as you.”  Aaron chuckles and they get out of the car.

 

“It’s been three months, I need you baby,” Aaron groans as Jill pulls her top off, letting him attack her breasts with his lips.  Kissing her tenderly. 

“You can have me, all of me,” Jill gasps as he pulls her up, carrying her to the bedroom. He chuckles, delving back into her collarbones, nibbling along them as he gets to the bed, he throws her down onto it.  

“You drive me wild, baby, every night on tour I dream about you.  About touching you. Your ass, your hips, god your hips drive me insane,” his hands roam along her hips and butt, squeezing her tenderly as his lips make their way back to her breasts.  “Good god, I missed these,” he sighs biting down gently on the top of her right breast, making her throw her head back in ecstasy. 

 

“God, I’ve missed you,” Jill laughs, wrapping her arm around his waist, her hand trailing down his hip.  He moans in delight, leaning down to kiss her. 

“I gotta catch my flight the day after tomorrow though, I can’t stay for long,” he tells her, holding her close.  

“How long until you’re back for good?” 

“Well, I actually got a call from someone who works for Hairspray, they want me to be Link on the road,” Jill sits up smiling at him.  

“Seriously? You’re gonna be Link Larkin?” He nods, biting his lip.  

“But, that means I’ll be on tour for about six months again.  But I’m getting an apartment in the city when I get back from Rent in a couple months, I want you to move in with me,” he suggests.  

“What about school?” 

“What about it?” 

“Well, I need to finish.  I’m finishing out my freshman year, I still have three years to go,” she argues.  

“Yeah, but I want you to live with me, you could take online courses while living in the city, can’t you?” 

She raises her eyebrows before nodding her head and getting up to get out of bed.  

“Of course, that’s what this is.”  

“What is this? I don’t understand.” 

“You want me to be your housewife, you wanna make all the money and have me there on your arm as your spectacle.”  Aaron jumps out of bed, stopping her as she puts her robe on. 

“Hey, stop that, you know that’s not true.  I believe in you, I believe in your career. I would never ask you to give that up, what are you doing?” she looks up at him with tears in her eyes, shaking her head.  

“I’m scared, Aaron,” he pulls her into his chest, holding onto her tight, “I’m so scared of being with someone forever.”  

“Hey, that’s alright.  I’m not gonna hurt you, baby, I just want to be with you, hold you for the rest of my life. I love you so much.”  She squeezes his shoulders tighter, crying into his shoulder. 

“I love you, Aaron, I just am so scared you’re gonna leave me on the next tour,” he pulls away, looking her in the eyes.  

“Hey, I’m not gonna leave you, we’ve been over this.  Whenever I’m on the road, you’re the only thing on my mind, at parties, everything.  The only person I wanna be around is you.”

 

“I don’t want you to leave, Aaron,” Jill whines, wrapping her arms around his neck as he picks her up by her butt, her legs wrapping around his waist.  

“I don’t wanna leave, either, but I’ll be back before you know it, we’ll go apartment hunting as soon as I get back, okay? And I’ll get us tickets to any show you want,” he smiles, kissing her softly.  

“Just come home to me, please, I want to get started on us,” she smiles her eyes telling him what she means and he squeezes her tight.  

“I love you, Jill, I’ll be home in eight weeks.”  

“I love you too, I’ll be waiting right here for you.”


	6. Starting a Real Life Together

Aaron unloaded the last box into their new apartment and set it down in the living room.  He walks over to Jill, lifting her up from behind. 

“Welcome home, baby,” he sets her down so she can turn to face him.  

“It’s good to have a home...with you,” she smiles, grabbing his face to kiss him hard.  

“My parents will be here soon they’re bringing groceries and then they’re going to take us to dinner before going back to Middletown,” Aaron tells her, walking over to start setting up their TV.  

“Hey, you know how you’ve never met my family?” Jill asks him.  

“Yeah, you said you don’t like talking about why. I didn’t ask cause I don’t want you to be upset.  Why?” She walks over to him, grabbing his arm to pull him over to the couch.

“I don’t want you to think I’m keeping you from anybody, and I don’t want you to think I have some big secret, okay?” he nods, pulling her onto his lap.  “So, my parents died when I was about four, so I don’t really know who they are or what they were like,” she chuckles, putting her hair behind her ear. 

“Okay, do you have any brothers or sisters?” Aaron treads very carefully, not knowing exactly what to say.  

“Umm, an older brother, he’s thirty now, he’s ten years older than me.  I haven’t told you about him because he’s kinda…” she shrugs her shoulders not knowing how to explain him.  

“He’s kinda what?” 

“He’s a great guy, a really great brother, but he’s very protective of his wife and kid, so I don’t really get to see him much.  His wife hates me.” She leans into him, her hands shaking. 

“I’m sorry baby, that must be tough on you.”  

“He lives in the city, I just wanted to tell you now because if, by some odd chance, we run into him I didn’t want there to be surprises,” she explains, holding his hand.  He kisses her temple, holding her close. 

 

“Well, I guess we will see you guys in a couple weeks for dinner at the house, yeah?” Posie asks, hugging Aaron and then Jill.  

“Yeah, we’ll come up in two weeks, that Friday,” Aaron tells her hugging his dad before they head out.  

Once his parents leave, Aaron closes the door and runs over to Jill, picking her up carrying her to the bedroom.  

“Let’s break this new apartment in, huh?” she giggles as he starts removing her clothes before his own.  

Right as he’s about to slide a condom on, Jill grabs his hand, “Don’t,” he looks at her confused, “If something happens, it’ll happen.”  He smiles at her before delving into her lips. 

“I love you, baby, so much,” he enters her slowly as she gasps, “I can’t wait for our life together.  Married, kids, our careers together, perfectly synchronized,” she smiles as he continues thrusting in and out of her.  

“Is that your way of proposing?” she laughs.  

He kisses her neck, driving her insane.  

“If you want it to be,” he chuckles, his voice low and husky as he becomes sloppier with his thrusts.  

“Oh baby, keep going,” she grabs his neck, pulling him as close to her as she can as he continues, making her come undone.  He keeps going until he’s finished and once he is, he kisses her slowly, making his way from her lips to her neck before falling next to her.  

 

**Four Months Later**

 

Aaron was back in New York after his run in Hairspray on tour, the producers moved him to the Broadway company so he’d been doing that for a couple of weeks.  Jill was insanely proud of him, even when he came home exhausted every night from the shows, she was always there for him. She rubbed his shoulders when he needed it and was always there for him to blow off some steam, always knew how to talk him down.  

“Jill, can you come lay with me?” Aaron asks her as she walks into the bedroom after her shower.  She goes over to get dressed and then lays down on the bed with him, holding him from behind, she kisses down the side of his neck.  

“You okay? You need anything?” He shakes his head leaning back into her.  “You want a massage? I can rub your shoulders.” 

“No, thank you though baby.  Go get your laptop, I wanna work on the wedding, it’ll make me feel better.”  She gets up to go grab her computer, sitting back down on the bed with Aaron’s head in her lap.  “Jill?” 

“Yeah, honey?” 

“Do you wanna have a baby?” 

She looks down at him smiling as she pulls up their wedding planning site.  

“I do, why?” 

“Because if we’re getting married soon, you know, maybe we could try for one soon?” He sounds so hopeful and Jill knows he had a rough day, he had messed up at one of his shows and he’s such a perfectionist that it really got to him.  

“Yeah, of course.  The wedding is in three months, we can start once things with Hairspray start to die down,” she suggests.  

“I wanna put a baby in you,” he chuckles, “I want you to have my baby.”  

“I wanna have your baby, but I’d rather get married first so I can fit in my dress,” she laughs, making him laugh.  

 

**December 10, 2005**

 

Aaron picks Jill up, carrying her across the threshold of their hotel.  They didn’t want a honeymoon, neither of them really wanted to go anywhere so they got a room at The Plaza for two nights.  

“Hey, before we do anything, I want to just sit with you,” Jill says as he throws her down on the bed.  

“Why’s that?” he kisses her softly.  

“Because I wanna enjoy this, live in today for a little longer while I can, in this beautiful dress that your mom helped me pick out and bought for me.  Despite my protesting,” she laughs. 

“This dress… do you even know what was going through my mind when I saw you walking down the aisle?” he kneels in front of her, taking her hands in his.  

“Tell me.”  

“My whole heart just completely stopped, I couldn’t breathe.  You looked so beautiful I was in physical pain,” he smiles. 

“Wanna take the dress off of me?” she wiggles her eyebrows.  

“Oh, baby, more than you know.”

 

“You know that today was probably the best day of my entire life?” Jill sighs getting up out of bed to throw on her robe.  

“Oh yeah? I think that today was the best day of my life too,” Aaron laughs, pulling the covers up over himself some more, snuggling up into the bed. 

“Even better than your Broadway debut?” Jill gasps in fake shock as she walks into the bathroom to pee.  

“Way better, for sure,” he laughs.  She walks back out, wiggling her eyebrows at him from the door before dropping her robe making him bite his lip holding back a groan.  

“I’m honored,” she giggles before walking over to her suitcase to grab some pajamas, her favorite pair of leggings and one of Aaron’s t-shirts.  

“Babe, why are you covering up? I like you just fine without clothes on,” he laughs as she walks back over to the bed, climbing in to straddle his hips.  She presses down on his chest, making him groan grabbing her hips. 

“I am freezing, that’s why,” as she climbs off of him he slaps her ass and she lies down next to him, letting him wrap his arms around her.  

“I love you so much, wife,” he smiles as he presses kisses along the back of her neck, making her smile in return.  

“I love you so much more, husband.”  

 

**Four Months Later**

 

“Babe, do not leave this apartment without eating something first,” Jill yells at Aaron as he’s grabbing his backpack to head to the theater.  

“I’m not hungry, I’ll pick something up on the way to work, I promise,” he smiles before running over to her giving her a quick kiss.  

“Fine, but be home right after the show, I don’t know how to cook and I promised your mom I’d make dinner tomorrow, so I need your help planning.”  He gives her another kiss, smiling at her. 

“I’ll be home by 11:30, I promise, relax a little,” he chuckles, “I love you!” he shouts opening the door.  

“I love you too! Break a leg!” 

 

“Jill, I’m home! It’s only 11:25, so you can’t be mad at me and say I’m late!” Aaron laughs walking into the apartment.  He heads to the bedroom where Jill was lying in bed asleep with her laptop next to her. He smiles at the sight before walking over to close her laptop.  He glances at the screen really quick, something catching his eye. 

_ Telling Your Significant Other You’re Expecting,  _ Jill is pregnant?  He smiles even wider now before closing the laptop and climbing into bed with her.  She wakes up for a split second, registering that he’s home safely and in bed. 

“Aaron?” she mumbles, sleepily.  

“I’m home, love, go back to sleep.”  She cuddles up to his chest and his arm wraps around her protectively, his hand ending up on her stomach, drawing circles with his index finger.  He sits there wondering about his future kid and all the things they’re going to do together, feeling happier than he ever has before. 

 

The next day was a Monday, which meant no shows for Aaron.  He and Jill spent most of the morning in bed, relaxing until about ten.  Then when Jill got up to take a shower, Aaron insisted on going with her, claiming it was just because he needed one as well and it would save them money on water.  

“Aaron, I can shower myself, thank you,” Jill laughs, pushing him away while he’s trying to help her wash her hair.  

“I just thought I’d help, I don’t want you to strain yourself,” he smiles, earning a confused look from Jill.  

“Okay… that’s random, but thank you, I guess.”  They finish showering and Aaron hops out before her, helping her out of the shower carefully, which gets him another confused look.  

“I’m just making sure you don’t slip and fall, I’m trying to help you out,” he defends himself.  

“Okay, thank you.  It’s just odd, you’re acting really odd.  Are you feeling okay?” She asks him as he helps her dry off.  

“Yeah, I feel great, incredible actually.”  

“Okay, Mr. Rogers, I’m gonna go get dressed, did you wanna help me with that too?” 

“Yeah, of course!” he follows her excitedly.  

“Babe, it was a joke, I can get dressed on my own,” she smirks.  

 

“Posie, is Aaron acting weird to you?” Jill asks as she and Posie start on cleaning dishes while the guys turn on ESPN in the living room.  

“Maybe a little, why?” 

“He’s been really weird like all day.  This morning I got up to shower and he went with me and helped me do everything.  He even tried helping me get dressed. And then this afternoon we went to the gym in the building together and he wouldn’t let me do anything but walk on the treadmill.  He said it could be dangerous for me to do anything else.” 

Posie laughs, drying off a plate Jill was handing her.  

“Oh sweetheart, that is odd, but I wouldn’t be complaining about him taking such good care of you,” she chuckles.  

“I’m not complaining about that, I’m confused as to why he’s acting so strange,” Jill admits, turning the sink off, helping Posie dry the last of the dishes.  

“Then why don’t you ask him?” 

“I guess I could,” Jill laughs walking with Posie into the living room.  When they get there, Aaron stands up and runs over to Jill, helping her walk to the couch.  “Alright, stop!” Jill pulls her arms away from him halfway to the couch. 

“What? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Aaron asks worriedly.  

“I’m fine! I’m not broken! Stop treating me like I am! What is wrong with you?” he takes a step back, looking like a puppy who was just scolded for eating food off the table.  

“I was just trying to help, I don’t want you to be stressed or do anything that could hurt the baby,” Aaron says quietly.  

Jill’s face turns red and her jaw drops.  

“How did you-I mean, what are you talking about?” Posie gasps and Aaron wraps his arms around Jill smiling.  

“I saw on your computer, we’re having a baby?” she nods smiling.  

“Yeah, I’m pregnant,” she giggles and he picks her up swinging her around before quickly setting her down.  

“Shit, I shouldn’t do stuff like that,” Aaron chuckles nervously, “We’re having a baby! When did you find out, though?” 

“Three weeks ago,” Jill admits sheepishly, “I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to be sure and so I went to the doctor yesterday while you were at your matinee and I got it confirmed, I’m nine weeks along tomorrow.”  

Aaron wraps his arms around her, hugging her tight with tears in his eyes.  

“I’m gonna be a dad!”

 

“I can’t believe you’re pregnant,” Aaron’s smile hasn’t left his face all night and Jill was over the moon with how happy he is.  She nods, pulling him down to kiss her as he situates himself hovering over her. Her hands go down to the waistline of his boxer briefs, pulling them down before he grabs her hand to stop her.  

“What? What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to-” 

“I don’t wanna hurt the baby,” he sighs his smile fading.  Jill puts her hands on either side of his face, smiling reassuringly up at him.  

“You’re not gonna hurt the baby, I promise.  It’s safe for us to have sex, it’s fine,” he nods leaning down to kiss her as she pulls his underwear off.  He chuckles as she pulls her own off afterward, pulling him down to enter her slowly. 

“You’re incredible,” Aaron moans against her neck.  His hands wrap around her abdomen and he smiles into her chest, “This baby is incredible.”  Jill arches into him, holding onto his shoulders tight. 


	7. Ethan Kristofer Tveit

Aaron held Jill’s hand close to his chest as their doctor started the ultrasound.  Aaron kissed Jill’s knuckles, holding onto her tight.

“Okay, everything looks great so far, do you wanna see your baby?” Doctor Christian asks them.  Aaron nods, looking down at Jill who is also nodding her head. He turns the screen around for them to see.

“Oh my god, that’s our baby?” Aaron gasps.  

“Yep, you wanna listen to the heartbeat? We should be able to get one.”  Jill nods and he turns the volume up on the screen. When nothing happens Doctor Christian gets a worried look on his face, making Aaron squeeze Jill’s hand tighter.  

“Is everything okay?” Jill asks, terrified.  

Christian moves the wand around finding the heartbeat, “Ah, there we go,” Jill and Aaron breathe out a sigh of relief and Aaron bends down to kiss Jill’s forehead.

“Thank god,” he whispers on her skin.  They listen to the heartbeat for a minute, soaking it all in.  “That’s incredible,” Aaron breathes out, smiling. Jill agrees and Christian wraps up their ultrasound.

 

Aaron kisses Jill’s abdomen, making her giggle.  

“Hey little man, I’m your daddy. You’re the greatest thing to ever happen to me and your mommy,” he whispers kissing her abdomen again.  

“How do you know it’s a boy?” Jill asks him, running her hand down the back of his head patting his hair down.  

“I have a feeling.  Trust me, it’s a boy,” he smiles nuzzling his nose against her belly.  “And he is going to be the best little athlete ever. He’ll play soccer, football, baseball, golf, basketball, just like his daddy.”  

“My baby isn’t playing football and that’s final.”  Aaron laughs, moving to lie down in between her legs with his face still next to her stomach.  

“Mmm, I don’t wanna go to work right now.  I could lie here with you and mommy all day long,” he smiles into her ribcage.  

“You gotta go to work, we’re gonna need the money with this baby coming,” Jill jokes with him making him laugh.  

“Alright, alright, I’m going.  But you promise me that you won’t stress out or do anything dangerous, please?” Jill nods and he leans up to kiss her.  

“I promise.  Now go, I’ll meet you at the theater after the matinee to go to dinner.  Mama is craving Italian,” she giggles.

“Perfect, we’ll go wherever you want.  I can’t wait to tell everyone at work about the baby,” he smiles, picking up his backpack.  “I love you.”

“I love you too, make me proud.”  

“Always mama!”

 

**Six Months Later**

 

“The nursery is done thanks to all the stuff from the baby shower last week,” Aaron laughs, flopping himself down next to Jill on the couch.  

“You finished everything?” She asks impressed.  

“Yep, the crib is up, dresser, the closet is organized, thanks to my mom, and I put up all the wall stuff right where you wanted it,” he smiles laying his head in her lap.  

“Well thank you very much,” she runs her fingers through his hair smiling down at him.  “You know how I’ve been feeling some contractions off an on all day?” Aaron nods, pressing a kiss to her stomach.  

“You okay? You need anything?”

“No, I just am a little uncomfortable, that’s all.  Will you sit in a bath with me?” He nods his head, sitting up and moving to help her up off the couch.  She waddles behind him to their bathroom and he starts a bath.

 

“Ow,” Jill whimpers, squeezing Aaron’s hand tight, “That’s a big one,” she leans into him, throwing her head into the crook of his neck.  

“I’ve got you, breathe through it, baby.  You’re doing great,” he assures her, rubbing her abdomen with one hand.  “That’s seven minutes, you wanna head to the hospital?” he asks once the contraction is over.  

“Yeah, I’m scared, Aaron,” he kisses the side of her head smiling at her.  

“I am too, but we’re having a baby! I’ll call my mom on the way to the hospital, she’ll come help you out too.”  

“Okay, I wanna go to the hospital now,” she nods her head and Aaron helps her get up out of the tub to dry off.  

 

“Great job, Jill! You’re doing great, sweetheart,” Posie encourages her as she continues breathing through her contraction, Aaron rubbing her back.  

“God, it hurts!” Jill groans and Posie sits down next to her, running a cool cloth over her forehead smiling at her.  

“You’re doing great though, much better than I would’ve been doing at your age,” Posie laughs.  “You need anything? I can send Stan out to get whatever you need to be comfortable.”

“No, I’m okay.  I think we’ve got everything I-shit!” Jill screams clutching her abdomen as Aaron sits down on the other side of her, rubbing her hips.  

“You’re doing so good baby, you’re so good,” he smiles leaning in to kiss her.  “He’ll be here soon, I promise.”

“How do you know it’s a boy? I told Christian I wanted it to be a surprise,” Jill cries, clutching Aaron’s hand, squeezing it with everything in her.  

“I’m sorry, I asked him to tell me about a month ago, I couldn’t wait.”  

“You’ve known for a month? We’re having a boy?” Aaron nods grinning wide.  

“Are you happy?”

“Of course I’m happy! We’re having a-ow!” A nurse walks into the room smiling at Jill and Posie moves to sit down in the chair next to the bed as the nurse checks Jill.  

“Nine centimeters, we’re getting close Jill, keep up the breathing, yeah? We’ll start prepping for delivery in about ten minutes,” she tells Jill excitedly.  Jill throws her head onto Aaron’s shoulder, squeezing his bicep before quickly lifting her head up again to look at him.

“You’re missing your shows.  Oh my god,” she gasps. He smiles at her, patting her hair down.  

“Hey, that’s okay, I’d rather be here with you.  I’m taking tomorrow off too, I called earlier while you were resting,” he smiles.  

She throws her head back down on his shoulder, groaning in pain as another contraction hits, “I want him out of me,” Aaron rubs her hips gently, kissing the back of her head.  

“He’ll be out soon, you’re doing so good sweetheart, I’m so proud of you.”  

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, I just want you to be proud of me like I am of you,” she cries lifting her head up.  

“Hey, I’m always gonna be proud of you, no matter what,” he scoffs, “you know that.  You’re the greatest person I have ever met.” He kisses her forehead before she grips his bicep again in pain.  “Good job baby, deep breaths,” he mimics her, helping her out a bit.

“Ow, I want the epidural, Aaron!”

Aaron looks up at his mom who shakes her head sadly.  

“Baby, it’s too late for that.  You can do this without it, I know you can,” she grunts in pain squeezing his arm even tighter.  He bites his lip in pain from her hand looking up at his mom again. She just laughs at him, knowing what Jill’s going through is much worse than his pain.  

 

“Alright Jill, we’re gonna lift your legs up and I want a big push, okay?” Jill nods and Aaron grabs one leg while the nurse grabs her other.  Posie had left once they started prepping Jill, not wanting to get in the way.

Once there’s a contraction, Jill pushes hard for about five seconds before screaming out in pain.  

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold it long,” Jill cries squeezing Aaron’s hand.  The nurse smiles at her as Christian walks in getting scrubbed up.

“That’s alright sweetheart, just do what you can,” she smiles at Jill lifting her leg up again, Aaron doing the same.  

“Big push Jill, you’re doing great,” Doctor Christian assures her, stepping between her legs.  Jill screams out again throwing her head back. “Great job, keep ‘em up just like that, sweetie.  You’re doing really well.”

“Please get him out, it hurts!” Jill cries and Aaron leans down kissing her quickly before giving her a reassuring smile as he lifts her leg up again for her to push.  

 

“The head’s out babe! Oh my god!” Aaron looks down before looking up at Jill smiling as a nurse is putting an oxygen mask over her face.  

“Alright Jill, you got a few more pushes left in you?” Dr. Christian asks her excitedly.  Jill pants looking up at Aaron exhausted.

“I can’t do it, Aaron,” she sobs and all he can think to do is give her a big smile, his eyes telling her everything’s okay.  He nods asking if she’s ready and she nods in response.

“Alright big push sweetheart, you’re almost there,” Dr. Christian encourages her and she grips Aaron’s hand as he lifts her leg so she can push.  

She falls back after about 15 seconds of pushing, breathing deep.  

“Great job, one last push and he’ll be out, sweetheart,” Christian urges her.  She nods and pushes again as hard as she can. “There we go, that’s it,” he pulls the baby up and onto Jill’s chest as a nurse unbuttons her gown to lay him on her bare skin.  

“Oh my god,” Aaron cries kissing Jill’s forehead, “Holy shit, he’s here,” he chuckles rubbing the baby’s back as a nurse brings a blanket over to lay on top of the baby.  

“How are you doing mama?” Dr. Christian asks Jill.  

“It hurts,” she groans.  

“I know, we’re getting you fixed up.  Focus on your baby boy for me, okay? Focus on him,” she nods and Aaron grabs her hand putting it on the baby’s back.  

“Why is she still in so much pain?” Aaron asks worriedly.  

“She had some tearing, but she’s gonna be just fine.  We just have to stitch her up a bit, no worries,” Dr. Christian smiles up at Aaron, who nods still worried about Jill.  

“Aaron, it hurts,” he looks down at her seeing the tears streaming down her face.  

“What hurts baby?”

“Everything,” he leans his head down to hers, kissing her forehead softly.  

“They’re gonna get you stitched up, you’re gonna be just fine, I promise.  Just focus on your baby boy, sweetheart,” she nods and looks down at the baby on her chest.  A nurse helps her and Aaron clean the baby off as Dr. Christian works on stitching her up.  

 

“Okay, you feeling alright, Jill? You lost a little bit of blood,” he and a nurse help her put her legs down to relax a bit.  

“I’m fine, just a little dizzy,” Jill admits as a nurse helps her with breastfeeding.  

“That’s completely normal.  I’ll be back to check on you in a little while, okay?” Jill nods her head smiling down at her baby.  “Just relax and enjoy your baby.”

Aaron shakes his hand and thanks him before going over to sit in the chair next to Jill’s bed.  He stares at her and the baby lovingly.

“Aaron, can you get me some water?” he gets up quickly.  

“Yeah, I’ll go tell everyone he’s here while I’m out there,” he leans down to kiss Jill, the smile on his face not leaving.  

 

“Hello?” Posie sings walking into the hospital room where Jill was sleeping and Aaron was rocking the baby in his arms.  

“Hi mama,” he walks over to her kissing her on the cheek which disrupts the baby, making him whimper in Aaron’s arms.  “Oh, hey baby, it’s okay, daddy’s got you,” he walks over to the chair to sit down which calms him down as Aaron moves him to lay on his chest instead of cradled in his arms.  

“How is he?” Posie asks kneeling down in front of Aaron.  

“Perfect.  Absolutely perfect,” Aaron grins as he watches his son fall back asleep.  

“Have you guys picked out a name yet?”

“Yeah, Ethan Kristofer Tveit,” Aaron says looking up at her, “Jill picked it out and I fell in love with it.”  Jill whimpers from the bed and Aaron looks up at her worried, Posie puts her hand on his arm to tell him to stay put as she walks over to Jill, sitting down on the bed.  

“Hey sweetheart, you okay?” Jill opens her eyes, nodding her head.  Posie fixes the oxygen cannulas on Jill’s face and smiles at her.

“Where’s Ethan?”

“Aaron’s got him, he’s asleep and doing just fine.  You feeling okay?” Jill squeezes Posie’s hand smiling.  

“I’m just tired, do I need to feed Ethan?” Posie shakes her head and pulls the blanket over Jill tighter.  

“Not right now, he’s okay.  Go back to sleep, you need your rest, sweetheart,” Posie leans down kissing Jill on the forehead as she drifts back to sleep.  

“Thank you mom, she’s had a rough hour or so.  She had a panic attack after she finished breastfeeding Ethan the first time so they put her on oxygen just to be safe,” Posie nods getting up off the hospital bed and Aaron hands her Ethan to hold.  

“Hello precious boy, you look just like your daddy when he was born,” Posie smiles walking Ethan around the room as Aaron climbs into the bed with Jill carefully.  

Posie grins at the two asleep together in the bed, familiar to her from when she and Stanley had Aaron.  


	8. Fear and Frustration

**Three Days Later**

 

Jill lays Ethan down in his bassinet as Aaron walks out of the bathroom, hair still wet from his shower.  “Did he eat okay?” Aaron asks walking over to kiss the back of her head. 

“Yeah, your mom gave me some tips on nursing that really help out a lot,” Jill smiles leaning back into him.  

“Good, everyone at the show said they’d love to meet Ethan,” he tells her wrapping his arms around her carefully.  

“They can come over after the matinee tomorrow, if they want.  I’ll be here with your mom taking care of him.” Aaron kisses the side of her neck before walking over to get dressed.  

“If you need me to wake up tonight with him, I will.  I want you getting some rest, you barely slept the last couple of nights at the hospital,” Aaron pulls his t-shirt over his head before throwing on a pair of sweatpants.  

“Okay, thank you, love.”  

 

“This is Ethan, Ethan these are daddy’s coworkers,” Aaron rocks Ethan in front of everyone, showing him off.  

“Oh, he is absolutely adorable, can I hold him?” Haylie, who plays Amber in the show asks.  Aaron nods carefully handing him off. 

“I’m gonna go check on Jill, make sure she’s eaten lunch and everything,” Aaron says running to the bedroom where Jill had just gotten out of a shower.  “Hi sweetheart, have you eaten lunch yet?” Jill nods walking over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. 

“Yeah, your mom made me some food, she left when you got here to go get some groceries.  Can you lay down with me? I wanna cuddle with you.” Aaron kisses the top of her head squeezing her tight to his chest.  

“The cast is out in the living room if you wanna go cuddle on the couch,” she nods and they head out to the living room.  

 

“Someone is hungry and crying for his mama,” Aaron whispers handing Ethan over to Jill.  She takes him and Aaron lays her blanket over her so she can nurse him. 

“Hello my little angel, are you hungry?” Jill coos.  

“You guys are like legit naturals,” Haylie laughs and Jill looks up as Posie walks back into the apartment.  

“Oh, I didn’t know everyone was still here,” she says and Jill smiles at her.  

“Let me help you with those mama,” Aaron runs over helping Posie with the grocery bags, carrying them over to the kitchen.  “Thanks for helping Jill out with everything while I’m at shows, mom.” 

“Of course, I love helping out with my first grandson! Oh, Jon wants to come into the city this weekend to hangout with you,” she tells him as they unload the groceries.  

“Yeah, that sounds like fun.  Is he staying here? I mean, I don’t mind but with the baby it might be kinda annoying for him.” 

“I think he just wanted to come during the day, see you in the show and then come home so me and your dad are gonna come with him,” she explains handing him Jill’s water bottle, “And your wife is going to want this, so I’d take it in there.”  Aaron smiles at her, thanking her before going into the living room, Posie following a few minutes later. 

 

Aaron got up six times in the middle of the night with Ethan, wanting Jill to get as much rest as she could.  The seventh time Ethan woke up screaming, Jill pulled Aaron back down into the bed kissing him on the cheek. 

“Just give him a minute, if he’s still crying I’ll take care of it,” she smiles.  

He nods his head and lays back down.  They sit there for a minute or two, Jill’s head on his chest. When Ethan doesn’t stop crying Jill gets up to get him out of the bassinet.

 

**A Month Later**

 

“Aaron, he won’t stop crying and your parents are taking Jon on that campus tour this weekend and can’t come help me and I don’t know what to do!” Jill cries over the phone.  She never calls Aaron while he’s at his shows but it’s intermission and she doesn’t know what else to do. Ethan had been crying for an hour. 

_ Okay, sweetheart, take a deep breath.  How long has he been crying?  _

“An hour, what do I do?” 

_ Alright, umm, there’s still ten minutes left of intermission, I’ll go see if my understudy can go on.  I’ll head over there in about five minutes, okay? _

“Okay, please hurry, I’m scared that something’s wrong.”  

_ I will.  I love you.  _

“I love you too.”  

She goes to pick Ethan up again out of his swing to try and swaddle him again, see if that would work.  When it doesn’t, Jill lays Ethan in his swing again turning it on. 

“Please, baby, please go to sleep or just stop crying.  Please angel.” 

 

“Hi, Ethan, hi baby,” Aaron runs into the apartment and scoops Ethan into his arms.  “Hi, daddy’s got you, I’m home.” Jill gets up off the couch rubbing her hands over her face.  

“Was your understudy able to take over for you?” She asks him and he looks over at her, rolling his eyes.  

“Well, I wasn’t really able to give him much of a choice, was I?” he bites back.  Jill crosses her arms over her chest. 

“I didn’t exactly plan this, Aaron, I didn’t want you to have to leave the show in the middle of it!” 

“Alright, just stop yelling, it’s not going to make Ethan stop crying,” Aaron yells at her.  

“Then stop yelling at me!” 

Ethan lets out a scream and Jill runs over to Aaron, smoothing the hair on the back of Ethan’s head down.  

“He feels warm, did he feel like this before?” Aaron asks running his index finger up and and down Ethan’s cheek.  

“No, he didn’t, let me go get the thermometer.”  

 

“Ethan Tveit?” A nurse calls them and Jill and Aaron jump up to go back to a room with the nurse. “We are just going to take little man’s temperature and see what the problem could be,” she tells them as Aaron sits down on the exam table with Ethan and Jill stands next to them.  

Aaron rubs Ethan’s back while the nurse gets the thermometer and pulls up Ethan’s file on the computer.  The nurse takes his temperature and shakes her head, writing it down. 

“What? What’s wrong?” Jill asks worried.  

“What did you say his temperature was at home?” 

“100.7, what is it now?”

“101.4.” Jill gasps and puts her hand over her mouth.  

“What does that mean? Is he okay?” Aaron asks, wrapping one arm around Jill’s shoulders to hold onto her.  

“We are going to run some tests, he does seem uncomfortable and that worries me more than the actual fever.  I’ll go gather some things and a pediatrician and be right back. In the meantime, why don’t you try feeding him? He might be more comfortable if he’s nursing,” She tells Jill.  Jill nods and takes Ethan from Aaron to go sit down in the chair on the other side of the room and Aaron kneels down on the floor in front of her. 

“Hi baby, hi sweetheart,” Jill coos situating Ethan.  The second he starts eating he calms down, which relaxes Aaron and Jill.  

 

“We’re gonna want to keep him for the next 24 hours, his fever still isn’t breaking and he’s still very uncomfortable.  If you’d like to have your pediatrician down here, that might be helpful to us.” Jill nods and leans into Aaron as the doctor walks away.  

“Call your mom and I’ll call our doctor,” Jill says and walks away from Aaron.  He sighs and pulls out his phone, seeing Jill like this is hard but he’s not really helping considering he was blaming her the last few hours.  

He calls his mom and Jill works on calling their pediatrician.  Once Jill finishes she walks over to Aaron as he’s hanging up his phone.  

“Mom said she’s on her way, she’s gonna go to the apartment to get us some stuff for Ethan.  You doing okay?” Jill shakes her head with tears in her eyes before walking away from him, her arms crossed over her chest.  

 

“How’s Jill?” Posie asks handing Aaron a duffel bag of Ethan’s stuff along with a bag of his and Jill’s stuff.  

“She’s not great, I gotta get to the theater, would you mind staying with her?” Posie nods and Aaron sets their stuff down next to the hospital bed in the room.  

“Where is she?” 

“The NICU, down the hall a bit to the right,” he tells her before heading out to go to work.  

 

“Posie? Where’s Aaron?” Jill asks her stepping out of the NICU.  

“He had to go to work so I came to sit with you and Ethan,” she explains.  

“Of course he did, his five week old son is in the hospital and he goes to work so that he can avoid getting into another fight with me,” Jill scoffs turning to look through the window at Ethan who is fussing as their pediatrician tries putting him on oxygen.  

“Sweetheart, he’s probably just going to the theater so he doesn’t have to really think about the fact that his son is in here.”  

“Yeah? He keeps blaming me for it. He said that if I had been paying more attention to Ethan, if I was a better mother we wouldn’t be here,” Jill chuckles bitterly.  Posie lays a hand on Jill’s shoulder. 

“He shouldn’t have said that, he was out of line, Jill.  But Ethan needs both of you. He needs you two to be here and be strong for him.”  Jill’s phone vibrates in her back pocket and she pulls it out to see that it’s Aaron, so she answers it. 

“Hello?”

_ Hey, my understudy is going on today and for both shows tomorrow.  They told me to come back to the hospital to be with you and Ethan.  I just wanted to make sure that was okay, if not I can go to back to the apartment.   _

“No, that’s fine.  Just come back here, and bring some lunch or something with you, if you don’t mind.”  

_ Yeah, okay.  Do you have anything particular you’re hungry for?  _

“No, whatever’s fine.” 

_ Okay, I’ll be there soon.  I love you.  _

“Yeah, see you soon.”  

She walks back over to Posie and smiles at her as if nothing’s bothering her.  

“Was that Aaron?” 

“Yeah, he’s taking today and tomorrow off.  He’s heading back here with lunch for us,” she smiles before walking toward the door of the NICU, “I’m gonna go back and sit with Ethan.”  

Posie nods smiling at her.  “Okay, I’ll be right here if you need me.”  Jill thanks her and goes back into the room, taking a seat next to where Ethan was.  She ran her finger along his cheek easing him to sleep. 

 

“Hey, how’s he doing?” Aaron comes up behind Jill making her jump. She turns around to look at him before turning her attention back to Ethan.  

“He’ll be fine, his fever is finally going down.  They’re taking him off the oxygen in a few minutes so I can breastfeed him.  Unless of course you think I can’t feed him properly and it’s just going to make him worse,” Jill spats at him.  

Aaron takes a seat next to her, closing his eyes tight before looking into her eyes.  

“Sweetheart, I shouldn’t have said that, okay? I was an asshole.” Jill nods her head, not disagreeing with him.  “I’m sorry baby, I was just terrified that something was really wrong with Ethan. Please forgive me.” 

Jill turns to look at him before leaning into kiss him.  

“Don’t ever tell me I’m a bad mother again, got it?” 

“I didn’t mean that, I swear.  You’re an incredible mother, I was just tired and sore and pissed that my baby was sick.  I shouldn’t have said any of that.”

“Damn right.  I’ve been losing my mind over here.” Aaron chuckles as a nurse comes up to get Ethan out of the little bassinet and hand him to Jill.  

 

“Home sweet home, Ethan,” Aaron carries him into the apartment behind Jill and they walk straight to the bedroom. 

“Can you try putting him down while I go shower?” Jill asks Aaron.  He nods and puts Ethan in his bassinet, rocking him a bit until he falls asleep before slipping into the bathroom where Jill was taking a shower.  

“Hey baby,” he whispers as he wraps his arms around her, she leans back into him letting the warm water wash over her body.  

“Is he asleep?” Jill asks turning to face Aaron.  He nods his head and leans down to kiss her slowly. “It’s been so long, Aaron,” Jill groans as his hands roam all over her body.  

“Just say the word and we can do it here and now,” he whispers in her ear, his voice deep and husky.  

“Please,” she moans and he picks her up slamming her against the wall.  He enters her slowly and they both moan as they begin moving together. 

They continue for a few moments before coming undone.  Aaron holds Jill up as she slouches against him. 

“Oh man, that was good,” Jill pants as Aaron kisses down her shoulders. Before Aaron can say anything, Ethan starts crying from the bedroom.  Aaron lets Jill down and rinses himself off before kissing her quickly. 

“I’ll go get him, you finish showering,” he smiles and climbs out of the shower.  When he gets into the bedroom, he looks down at Ethan before picking him up, cradling him to his chest.  

“Hi sweet boy, daddy isn’t even wearing pants,” Aaron chuckles rocking Ethan as he calms down a bit.  Aaron walks over to get a pair of sweatpants and then sets Ethan down on the bed to quickly put them on.  

“There’s my boys!” Jill exclaims walking into the bathroom wearing her robe and drying off her hair.  Aaron picks Ethan back up and hands him off to Jill. 

“You hungry sweet boy?” She smiles climbing into bed as Aaron grabs her a pillow and then runs out to the kitchen to get her some water and then start on cooking them something to eat for dinner.


	9. The Worst Infant Phase

“Mama!” Ethan cries from the picnic blanket Jill and Aaron had him sitting on for pictures. Jill smiles at him and Aaron tries doing everything he can to make Ethan smile.  Ethan doesn’t stop crying so they decide to take a break from pictures for a few minutes. 

Jill bends down to pick Ethan up, cuddling him close.  

“What’s wrong buddy?” Ethan holds his arm up and shrugs his shoulder. “You don’t know?” Jill laughs and Aaron walks over kissing Ethan’s cheek.  

Jill sets Ethan back down and goes to grab his snack.  She hands it to him and holds his cup to his lips for a sip.  He swats her hand away and starts crying again. 

“What buddy?” 

“I do it!” Ethan yells and she hands him the cup before holding her hands up in surrender.  

“I’m sorry mister, I didn’t know you were such a big shot,” Jill laughs.  

“Daddy!” Ethan holds his arms up for Aaron to pick him up and Aaron obliges.  “Want to go home,” Ethan demands. 

“We’re going soon, baby, mommy has to look at your pictures first,” Aaron tells him and the photographer brings the iPad over to show Jill and Aaron the photos to make sure they got enough that they like.  

  
  


Jill walks into the nursery where Ethan was waking up from his nap and walks over to his crib.  He holds his arms out for her and she picks him up as he rests his head on her shoulder. She walks over to the rocking chair in his room and sits down to nurse him for a little bit.  

“Mama,” Ethan cries.  

“What sweet boy? You wanna nurse for a bit?” He nods his head and she situates him before Aaron walks into the room.  He smiles at them and walks over kneeling down to kiss the top of Ethan’s head. 

“I’m gonna make some dinner, what do you want mama?” Aaron asks Jill.  

“I’m fine with whatever.  Make Ethan some mac and cheese and some steamed veggies though,” Jill tells him.  He nods his head and gets up to go make their food. 

 

“How were rehearsals today?” Jill asks Aaron as she cuts up Ethan’s vegetables for him.  

“They were good, I’m kinda nervous for opening night next week, though,” he admits.  

“Why honey?” 

“I don’t know, I just have never originated a role before and this show is so serious and handles very important things. I know we aren’t on Broadway yet but the Off-Broadway is just as important,” he says handing Jill her plate.  

“I agree, it’s a big and very important role, but I know you can do it justice,” she smiles at him and he grins in return. 

“Daddy!” Ethan grins holding up a piece of chicken in his hand.  

“Yeah! Is it yummy?” Aaron laughs and Ethan nods his head smiling before taking a bite of the chicken. 

“Nummy!” Ethan laughs before taking a sip of his juice. 

“Ethan, wanna tell daddy what we learned today?” Jill asks him digging into her food, this being the first time she’d eaten real food since breakfast.  

“No!” Ethan yells. 

“Come on, just once.  Tell him what mommy taught you,” she pleads.  “Do you remember it?” Ethan nods his head. “Okay, ready? Who’s mommy’s favorite?”

“Ethan!” 

“Who’s Ethan’s favorite?”

“Mommy!” Ethan giggles eating his broccoli.  Aaron looks at her shaking his head in disappointment.  

“I cannot believe you’re teaching our son to hate me, that’s so wrong,” he laughs.  

“Hey, I’m here all day every day with him, I’ll teach him what I want,” she smirks.  

 

Aaron claps his hands at Ethan from a foot away making Ethan bounce in Jill’s arms, giggling hysterically.  

“Come on! Come on, buddy!” Ethan waves his arms and continues laughing as Aaron makes funny faces at him.  

“Go to daddy!” Jill tells him barely holding onto him.  He inches forward a little bit and Jill makes sure he’s steady before she lets go.  He practically just launches himself into Aaron’s arms after taking a couple of steps, but they take it since he should’ve been walking weeks ago.  

“Good job buddy!” Aaron exclaims picking Ethan up and tossing him in the air a bit which gives Jill a small heart attack until she sees him giggling at Aaron.  

“Oh my goodness, you’re getting so big, aren’t you? Pretty soon you’re gonna be leaving mama to get married to some fancy doctor woman,” Jill chokes up and Aaron smiles at her before looking at Ethan.  

“Mama is losing her mind, isn’t she?” 

“Mommy!” Ethan holds out his arms to Jill and she takes him from Aaron cuddling her close.  “Mommy love!” 

“You want some mommy loves? Have you had enough of daddy?” Ethan cuddles into her chest and she moves to the couch to cuddle with him.  Aaron stands up and falls onto the couch with them, his head in Jill’s lap. 

“Daddy off!” Ethan yells pushing on Aaron’s head.  

“Hey! I wanted some mommy loves too,” Aaron whines kissing Ethan’s cheek.  

“My mommy!” Ethan pouts.  

“Hey, we like to share in this family, mister,” Jill says kissing the top of Ethan’s head.  He throws his head down on her shoulder and she rubs his back as Aaron moves to lay his head back down in Jill’s lap.  

“Daddy, no!” Ethan cries throwing his head on Jill’s shoulder.  She rubs his back moving so that Aaron gets off of her. 

“What buddy? Daddy just wanted to lie down with us,” Jill says and Ethan cries harder.  She stands up rocking him gently calming him down. 

“No daddy,” Ethan says again.  Jill looks over at Aaron worried and he gets up to go to the kitchen.  She carries Ethan into the kitchen with Aaron, walking up behind him to rub his back.  

“I’m fine, Jill, I just was gonna make some coffee.  You can go back into the living room,” Aaron groans moving to get the french press from the back of the counter.  

“Baby, he doesn’t mean anything by it, he’s just going through a phase,” Jill tries convincing him that everything’s okay.  

“I know, I just am gonna make some coffee and then head down to the gym to work out for a little bit.  If you need me, let me know,” he fake smiles and moves to pour his coffee as Jill goes back to the living room to try and get Ethan to sleep.  

 

“Aaron?” Jill carries a crying Ethan into the gym of their apartment and Aaron looks up from his weights, setting them down.  

“What’s wrong? Is he okay?” Aaron tries taking Ethan, but he continues screaming his head off in Jill’s arms.  

“I don’t know, he just won’t go to sleep, will you help me?” Jill asks anxiously rocking Ethan.  

“What am I supposed to do? He wants nothing to do with me,” Aaron says grabbing his towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead.  

“Aaron Kyle Tveit, if you don’t help me with  _ our  _ son, I will divorce you here and now,” Jill yells, only half joking.  He turns around and takes Ethan from her, Ethan immediately calming down, laying his head on Aaron’s chest.  

“Hey, buddy, why were you so upset?” Aaron rocks him as Jill smiles up at them happily.  

“Daddy,” Ethan sighs smiling wrapping his arms around Aaron’s neck.  Aaron squeezes him to his chest happily while Jill picks up his gym bag.


End file.
